closing the skills gap is critical to make progress in manufacturing and supply chain.

In its 2020 Budget, the Malaysian government had announced several initiatives to support the business growth of local industries. Public expenditure will increase from 3% to 3.2% of GDP to boost local economic growth. A majority of this spend would go into boosting investments and improving infrastructure in technology, manufacturing and value-add industries.

Growth in the manufacturing sector will hence be built on the higher expenditure expected in infrastructure development next year. In addition to the increased shipping volume from manufacturing outputs, the supply chain industry will see a wave of digital transformation in 2020.

As more companies register that traditional processes will no longer meet future market expectations, many will turn towards innovation to optimise efficiency and generate long-term cost savings. This market trend is in line with the nation’s move towards Industry 4.0

2020 labour trends and candidates’ expectations in manufacturing and supply chain.

As the manufacturing and supply chain industries continue on its digital transformation journey, the skills required to do the jobs will change significantly. This could lead to an even wider skills gap if companies do not act fast enough to upskill their employees.

Many employees in Malaysia are eager to learn, but not always sure where or how to start. Companies that actively communicate their development programmes and anecdotes from employees who have benefitted from these training sessions will be able to attract good talent.

Some of the new roles that we expect to see in Industry 4.0 include process development engineers, robotics engineers (hardware and software) and artificial intelligence specialists. Professionals equipped with these emerging tech skills would be highly sought-after as they will be the ones who will be leading the charge towards Industry 4.0.

key highlights in the manufacturing and supply chain industry

• dire digital skills shortage in the Malaysian manufacturing and supply chain labour scene
• in-demand jobs and skills in the industry
• candidates’ expectations on professional and career developments